Apple proposes even smaller SIM cards

Apple has gone to the European telecoms standards body, ETSI, to
propose that SIM cards be made even smaller than the microSIM used
in the iPhone 4.

A spokesperson from the ETSI told
Reuters that Apple had approached the organisation, but that the
decision on whether to create a standard hadn't yet been made.
"This process may take some time, up to a year or more, if there is
strong disagreement between industry players. However, when there
is broad consensus among the companies participating in the
standards committee, the process can be accelerated to a number of
months," he said.

Orange's head of mobile services, Anne Bouverot, seemed pleased
that Apple was playing nice with the mobile operators. "It's
certainly showing that they're willing to work with the
standardisation bodies and with the operators, which we welcome.
We're discussing how to improve our relationship."

The process shouldn't take long, and if it all goes smoothly
then the first devices using smaller SIM cards could come out as
soon as 2012. It's yet to be seen whether other hardware
manufacturers will take up the standard -- microSIMs are still
fairly new, and haven't exactly taken the world by storm so
far.

This news follows rumours from last year, which suggested Apple
is considering baking reconfigurable SIM cards directly into the iPhone's hardware.
It would eliminate the need to insert a network-specific card
entirely, allowing users to choose what network their phone should
use at the point of purchase.

Edited by Nate Lanxon

Comments

If the last scenario were the case, would I be able to switch carrier? One would hope so!